The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) could not carry out its threat of resignations on Saturday as MLAs of the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party refused to share its perception over quitting from the Assembly.
The rift, in fact, widened as Congress representatives abstained from a meeting of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC).
After waiting in vain for nearly four hours, JAC leaders including those of TDP, TRS and BJP went ahead with their meeting in the absence of Congressmen who, all this while, were closeted in a conclave of their own.
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Serious differences developed at the Congress leaders' meeting over the issue of resigning to protest against the terms of reference (ToR) of the Srikrishna Committee "as they were unfavourable to Telangana".
After heated discussions, four MLAs {ndash} R. Damodar Reddy, P. Narsa Reddy, Ch. Muthyam Reddy and Bikshamaiah Goud {ndash} and an MLC B. Mohan Reddy {ndash} announced their decision to resign.
Their decision did not find favour with the majority who suggested other means including boycott of the Assembly session on its opening day on Februrary 15. They also favoured writing a letter to the Congress high command to reconsider the ToR by deleting the reference to the demand "for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh".
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Telangana MPs have already dashed off a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi to this effect, besides demanding that the committee submit its report within six months.
Earlier, the TRS politburo endorsed the decision of its ten MLAs, two MPs and one MLC, to resign their membership of the legislature.
The MLAs would submit their resignations to Speaker on Sunday morning, it was announced. The TDP has resolved to make its political moves only after studying the actions of the Congress MLAs.